Aunt Dahlia

Knitting experiments are fun. You can try what's possible with a range of techniques. So, after knitting my Garter Stitch Snowflake, I wanted to try something similar with a contrasting color to contour the petals. 

This doily (placemat, potholder ...) consists of 60 short-row diamonds that stack up to be triangles which in turn form a (slightly angular) circle – or a spiky hexagon. It starts with a provisional cast on and is finished by grafting in garter stitch. It is quite fiddly and not a beginner pattern. 

This knitting pattern is available via

• Ravelry 
• Loveknitting 
• Payhip

The pattern PDF contains 

• written row-by-row instructions for knitting this piece – including 8 in-process photos
• an explanation (plus schematic) of the construction, i.e. how the diamonds stack up to create the whole piece
• chart(s) of one diamond
• short photo tutorials for the following techniques
• provisional CO with a crochet hook and undoing it
• grafting in garter stitch
• short rows with wrap and turn and picking up the wraps 
• crochet CO (at the edge of a knitted piece)
• weaving in yarn while carrying it (backwards and forwards)

To knit this piece you need the following materials:

• Sports weight yarn 
• 120 metres in MC (main colour)
• 50 metres in CC (contour colour)
• 2.5 mm knitting needles 
• a crochet hook of a similar size (I used a 2.5mm hook)  
• scrap yarn
• a tapestry needle – for grafting and to weave in ends

The finished piece knitted in Sports weight yarn measures 30 - 33 cm in diameter.

Another one knitted in Lace weight yarn measured 26 - 29 cm in diameter.

Wrong side of the piece

Firebird

Short rows and variegated yarn are a gorgeous combination because of the yarn is shown in the best possible way. This shawl consists of rhombuses that stack up to be triangles which in turn form a (slightly angular) semi-circle – or to be precise half of an octagon.

Even though this shawl is knitted all in garter stitch, it is NOT an instant gratification project because it requires some concentration. 

Knitted in Lace weight yarn the finished and blocked piece measures about 159 cm in width and about 78 cm in depth. Since it is knitted all in garter stitch, it basically looks the same on both sides.

The pattern PDF is available via

• Ravelry 
• Loveknitting 
• Payhip 

The pattern PDF is 15 pages long and contains

• written row-by-row instructions for knitting this piece
• schematic of the construction, i.e. how the rhombuses stack up to create the shawl
• chart(s) of one rhombus
• a cheat sheet that summarizes the pattern on one page
• short photo tutorials for the following techniques
• short rows with wrap and turn and picking up the wraps
• crochet CO (at the edge of a knitted piece)
• backwards loop CO

To knit this piece you will need the following materials

• about 1900 metres of Lace weight yarn – I used Wollmeise Lace (colorway Allegria) - here's a link to the yarn's Ravelry page
• 3.25mm knitting needles – I used circulars that were 80 cm long
• a crochet hook of a similar size (I used a 3.5mm hook)
• a tapestry needle – for grafting and to weave in ends
• 7 stitch markers
• (at least) 1 removable stitch marker to mark the RS of the piece

Gateways Cowl

When it's not really cold, but still a bit chilly, a thick scarf may be a bit too much. So a lightweight cowl that fits around the neck is the perfect accessoire. 

This cowl is knitted in the round in two-colour brioche. Two-colour brioche is a marvellous technique. With two contrasting colours you can create gorgeous effects and pattern. I especially love it, when brk-stitches cross and a lattice effect is created. The stitch used to do this can be combined in many ways. With this cowl it is combined with plain two-colour brioche to knit a diamond pattern at and offset.  

The finished cowl measures 61 cm in circumference and 29 cm in height. Using Lace weight wool and wool/silk blend, the finished piece weighs less than 50 grams.

The pattern PDF is available via

• Ravelry 
• Lovecrafts 
• Payhip

The pattern PDF is 8 pages long and contains:

• row-by-row pattern instructions
• a chart of a pattern repeat
• photo tutorial for brioche stitch that creates the lattice effect

To knit this cowl you should have a basic knowledge of knitting two-colour brioche.

Dark side (inside) of this cowl

To knit this cowl you will need the following materials

• about 400 metres (in total) of Lace weight yarn – in two colours. I used: 
• as LY: Lana Grossa Fine (color 19) - link to the yarn's Ravelry page
• as DY: West Yorkshire Spinners Exquisite Lace (color 741, Mayfair) - link to the yarn's Ravelry page
• 3 mm circular knitting needles (40 cm length)
• 2 stitch markers
• a tapestry needle for weaving in ends